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Ashflight's story
Ashflight padded through the forest. The wind gently breathed on her pale grey fur. This was the only time she ever had away from the chaos of clan life. Night was when she could be alone. Although it would not be long till her siblings arrived and the silence was spoilt by her blundering kin, this was a rare moment and she savoured it. "Ashflight!" a ginger tom hissed. Disappointed that company had found her, she looked at her brother. "What do you want?" she sighed. "Where are you going?" his eyes flicked unconciously to the Shadowclan territory. Ashflight growled. She'd heard stories about cats who sneaked across borders to meet their forbidden lovers. She also knew it could happen to the best of cats; even Leafpool, her shy kin, had found her life torn apart by a Windclan tom. But she couldn't help feel furious with her brother for implying she would do such a thing. "You think I'm a traitor?" "No, I'm just saying..." "Honestly, Blazetail. For a clever tom, you can be incredibley stupid. So you assumed that just because I went for a walk around Shadowclan territory that it means I've suddenly decided to leave Darkclaw and love some random Shadowclan cat!" she purred in amusement at the thought, calming down. Her mate, Darkclaw, was the son of Brambleclaw and some queen. He didn't talk about his mother much. In fact, coming to think of it, he didn't mention her at all. Every cat knew Brambleclaw had really loved her mother, Squirrelflight. But Squirrelfight had chosen Ashfur, her father. She thanked Starclan passionately for her mother's choice. "Oh, okay." he looked embarrassed. The tom was a brilliant fighter and ferociously loyal, but when it came to she-cats, he was clueless. He couldn't even talk to Ashflight properly, he'd only ever grunt at her or mutter a few words. What annoyed her was that he could have detailed conversations with Opalpaw, their younger sister. Everyone was friends with Opalpaw, even Brambleclaw. Ashflight wasn't jealous of Opalpaw, but wished she had a littermate sister or a best friend to confide in. The closest thing to a best friend that she had was Brightheart, but the older cat prefered the company of she-cats her own age- and, of course, Cloudtail. "Who are you?" a strange, rasping voice made the siblings jump. "We are Thunderclan cats. You are on our territory." Blazetail hissed. Ashflight breathed in the cat's unfamiliar scent. It was a she-cat, probably a rogue- judging by the smell. "Thunderclan, eh? Well, you must know my kits." the she-cat mewed. "Who are they?" "Ah, I don't know, I don't know. I remember their father named one of them Darkkill or something of the sort. See, he didn't love me at all. He just had the kits to make some old she-cat jealous. Apparently it didn't work. Anyways, I told him I wanted to see the kits and he said sure, they were in Thunderclan. Didn't make any sense at all. His name was Brambles or something." Ashflight stared in horror. "Darkkill? Do you mean... Darkkit? So, you're the one who killed his brother?" she gasped. "Yes, little old Flightkit. I had to kill the poor thing, he was a runty little fellow. Wouldn't have lasted a day." she mewed casually. "Who are you?" Blazetail hissed, his fur on end. Dark "Ah, didn't I introduce myself? I'm Scraggles, the old she-cat from down the bins. You must have heard of me?" they both shook their heads. "Well, take me to my kits then, eh? And my old mate. What was his name? Ah yes, I remember now. Brambleclaw." Brambleclaw He watched Squirrelflight touch noses with Ashfur, purring loudly. At that moment, he knew he would betray a thousand clans and die a thousand deaths just to be in Ashfur's place. His heart was bleeding. It felt as if his insides were being raked by dagger-sharp claws, and each second of watching Squirrelflight gaze at Ashfur brought on a new bout of pain. No, not pain. Pain was an insult to the feeling that was raging through him. For what seemed like moons he simply sat there, staring in horror. "That's it, Brambleclaw. I've had enough." Firestar announced. Brambleclaw didn't even blink. His eyes were dull. "Enough of what?" he jumped. "You've done nothing but laze around for moons on end. We've warned you several times but you're obsessing over Firestar's daughter." another voice hissed. "That's not true!" Brambleclaw exclaimed, outraged. It was true. Of course he was upset about Squirrelflight, but he'd just been hunting non-stop since sun-up and had got up extra early to organise a dawn patrol. He was devastated but that didn't mean he was going to stop wanting to honour his clan. He'd only stopped half a heartbeat. "I agree, Mousefur, that was a little harsh. But Brambleclaw, you've been through a lot. Maybe it would be best if I relieved you of your position as deputy for a while." Brambleclaw stared at him, gaping in horror. "But... why?" he spluttered. "Thunderclan needs a strong deputy at the moment. This leafbare has been particularly harsh and we've never had less apprentices. How can you be a potential leader when you feel so much pain?" Firestar explained. "But... that's mousbrained! I'm... I'm..." Brambleclaw couldn't believe what he was hearing. First Squirrelflight, then his deputyship. What would he have left? "That's final, I'm afraid. Remember, it's not permanent." Firestar stalked off. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey..." he began to yowl the familiar cry, before falling silent. "Who are you?" he gasped. A red tom with the scent of Thunderclan had burst in, but he was not recognisable. For the tom was not truly red at all. He was painted crimson with his own blood. "Firestar, it's me! Cloudtail!" he panted. "Cloudtail!" Brightheart screeched, rushing over to him. Daisy followed her. Brambleclaw noticed Ashfur comforting his daughter, Opalpaw. Cloudtail was her mentor and seeing him so weak must be frightening. But Brambleclaw couldn't help but wish that he was the one comforting his own daughter. His and Squirrelflight's. But all he had was Darkclaw, the son of some mangy rogue. The same rogue that killed their other son. "What happened?" Brambleclaw raced over to his friend. He had been missing for almost a moon now and everyone had been worried. "I scented a Thunderclan cat by Shadowclan territory , and his scent was mixed with the smell of a rogue. I could smell anger and I went to see what was wrong." he panted. "And?" Daisy prompted. "I smelled fresh fox and followed it's scent to. Then a Twoleg monster came. It was worse than any other monster. It was like a giant cylinder shape, and it had pictures of strange creatures on it. Horrible creatures, some with necks taller than trees, and others with huge long claws on their faces." his descriptions were vivid. The whole clan, who had now gathered, gasped in horror. "But there was something that made me change my mind about being scared. There was a picture of a huge, I mean, MASSIVE striped cat. A tiger." the whole clan fell silent, gawping at him. "I ran after the monster, and the back bit flapped up. I saw all the creatures! The long-necks, the tusk-faces, everything! There were two tigers, and a leapard. But most of all, there was a lion. It was a huge, golden beast. It had a mane of fire! But one other creature escaped from one of the fence-things. It was like a dog, but worse. It was grey and massive, with a chilling howl that made me freeze. The howl-thing attacked me. It was horrible. He could have killed me in a heartbeat, but he made it slow. I couldn't fight back. I would have died if the Twolegs hadn't came out and put a claw thing into him that made him sleep. I was stuck there, dying, for a night. Then a black-and-white kittypet rescued me. She took me to her nest and her father, an old kittypet called Smudge, said I smelled a bit like Princess, my mother. He loved Princess, and hated me for being born so he threw me out. I was too weak to make it back home, so I just ate dandelion and lay there for days. I only just managed to get back." Cloudtail collapsed. Brightheart broke the stunned silence. "Well, what are we waiting for? Take him to Cinderpelt!" she yowled. She and Daisy managed to haul the solid white tom away. Brambleclaw shuddered. The poor white tom had been through so much, just because he smelled fox! Firestar began to talk to Thunderclan about it, but Brambleclaw didn't listen till he heard his own name. "Cats of Thunderclan, as I'm sure you know, Brambleclaw, our deputy, is going through a lot of pain at the moment." he dipped his head in embarrassment as every cat turned to him. "That's my fault." Squirrelflight murmured. Brambleclaw longed to tell her that it wasn't, but then he'd break down, and he couldn't afford that. "Thunderclan is enduring a hard time, so we must must temporarily appoint a deputy who will be able to cope with this difficult leafbare and the hardships to come." Tigerstar would be furious with him! He could already imagine the giant tom hissing; How could you sacrifice my plans for the daughter of ''Firestar? ''How dare you? "Brambleclaw, do you agree with this?" Cloudtail yowled suddenly. He'd been cleaned up by Cinderpelt, and although he had a limp, the worst was over for him. "I am regretful to give up my position but I understand. Yes, I do." he couldn't sound too annoyed or the other cats would be suspicious. "Then I say these words before Starclan and may they hear and approve of my choice. Brackenfur will be the new deputy." Firestar announced. "What?" spluttered the golden tom. "Brackenfur, Brackenfur!" the clan chanted. Brambleclaw tried to be happy for the serious minded warrior but failed. His heart sinking, he realized he was the first deputy in history to lose his position because he wasn't good enough. The clan carried on the chant, and only Squirrelflight, Cloudtail and Ashfur remained silent. "I'm sorry." Ashfur murmured. "It's not your fault." Brambleclaw told him truthfully. "Oh, Brambleclaw. I miss the days when we were apprentices. They were so simple, so easy." the grey tom mewed. "No, they weren't. Not for me, anyway." Cloudtail limped over to them. "Do you know where Ashflight and Blazetail are?" Ashfur asked him quietly. The two other toms shook their heads. "Or Darkclaw?" Brambleclaw added. "Who was his mother, Brambleclaw? I promise we won't tell." Cloudtail queried, but the dark tom just shook him head. At that moment, Ashflight and Blazetail rushed to greet them. "Mother!" Darkclaw wailed, scrambling from the fresh kill pile. Brambleclaw yowled in shock. There, before them, stood Scraggles. He must have been so desperate to make Squirrelflight jealous, he thought. She was frighteningly ugly. Not only that, but this warped she-cat was looked older than Mousefur. "Well, well, Brambleclaw. It's been a long time, eh?" she rasped... Ashflight. "That's my mother!" Darkclaw squeaked. "She killed Flightkit." Blazetail kept repeating the same sentence over and over again. "Everyone, let's go somewhere quiet." Brambleclaw hissed. Darkclaw, Ashflight, Blazetail, Cloudtail, Ashfur and Scraggles followed his lead to a clearing. "So, this is her? She's not much." commented Cloudtail, his blue eyes stretched wide. "Mind your own bussiness, scum." she hissed menacingly. "You can't talk!" Darkclaw yowled suddenly. Ashflight licked her mate calmly. "So, I hear you loved some other cat, made me have kits to get her jealous and now can't stand the sight of me." the rogue turned to Brambleclaw. She really was horrendous. Her pelt was a sickly yellow colour and was missing in clumps. Her claws were blunt and she had bones stuck between her blackened teeth. Her eyes were dull grey. How could Brambleclaw choose to betray his clan for her? "You heard right." Brambleclaw hissed. "I also heard you killed my brother when he was a kit." Darkclaw hissed. "Come with me, my son." she murmured. Darkclaw followed her away. Ashflight followed them secretly while the other cats muttered to each other. The tom and his mother first padded slowly away, then began to sprint towards some secret place they obviously visited regularly.. Ashflight was out of breath by that point but Darkclaw wasn't. When the two cats finally stopped, they glared at each other with such hatred that Ashflight longed to race out and save her mate from the intensity of the glare. "I can't have you gossiping like this." Scraggles was hissing. She raised a paw and struck her son over the head. "You've always known how to beat me but you never learnt to love me. You're no mother." he growled, but his only reply was a nip in the neck. Ashflight watched in horror as the warrior made no attempt to defend himself. "You beat me since I was a kit..." "You deserved it! How dare you so boldy display your appearance when you look so much like your father? You're an embarrassment. I told you when you were a kit to stay in the bins and never come out, because if you showed your face then you would hurt me, because you remind me of him. But did you listen?" she snapped. "The Twolegs would have burned me up." "That would have been good! You shouldn't have been born, I wish you hadn't. The only reason I wanted kits was so they could hunt for me while I had fun. But do I get fun? No. Because you ran off to live with your daddy! I only see you once a month. If you don't turn up, remember I will KILL you like I did to Flightkit." "One day I will kill YOU." Darkclaw muttered. Ashflight gasped, but neither of the cats heard. "Not in your dreams, filth. I killed Flightkit because he was too weak. I should have killed you by now too." she raked her claws over his flank. "Now, go and roll in fox dung. Hide the scent. You shouldn't smell any different to normal, though." Darkclaw didn't move, so Scraggles leap on top of him and forced him into a pile of dirt. Darkclaw raced off. And Ashflight leaped out of her hiding place and drew her claw across Scraggle's throat. "You piece of crowfood! Why would you kill an innocent cat?" she gurgled. "I wouldn't." she replied, and stalked off. Darkclaw stared at her. "Why did you do that?" he hissed. "Because she was abusing you! Because I love you! Why else?" "Well, I don't love you; not any more, anyway. You killed my mother!" he roared. Ashflight stared in shock. "She would have killed you!" she whispered. "No, she'd never have done that. She was only making me tough. She was stopping me from letting love blind me. I don't need love! I'm going to be a leader and you're holding me back." he hissed. "But... we're mates!" "No we're not. I have kits now, you mousebrained fool! I followed my father's and grandfather's examples and now a rogue had my kits. They will join the clan..." he stopped. "Whoops, now you know too much." he growled. Before Ashflight could do anything, he pinned her down painfully. "Bye bye." he hissed, and brought the claw down to strike her throat. As she slipped away, there was no pain. Dying doesn't hurt on the outside. But it does inside...